In order to accommodate the diverse needs and desires of consumers, numerous luggage cart constructions have been developed over the years. In this regard, many prior art constructions presently exist which enable consumers to easily transport a plurality of suitcases on a single cart or carrier which is also easily folded or collapsed into a small, compact configuration.
As these prior art, portable, luggage carts/carriers were developed, numerous alternate designs were implemented for increasing consumer convenience. In this regard, one area which received particular attention was the construction of a luggage cart/carrier wherein the support wheels automatically arcuately pivot between a stowed position and a fully deployed, usable position. Although this type of construction quickly became popular, difficulties were often encountered with prior art constructions due to their inability to provide repeatable, reliable, controlled movement of the support wheels in a cost effective construction.
In attempting to resolve this difficulty and satisfy consumers' needs and desires, several prior art products have attempted to produce luggage cart/carriers with pivotable wheel members. However, although substantial effort has been expended in attempting to develop a reliable and dependable construction, these efforts have generally failed to fully satisfy all of the consumers needs and demands.
In particular, these prior art products are typically constructed with extremely complicated pivoting systems, requiring numerous parts and assembly difficulties. As a result, substantial expense is incurred in the manufacture of these products, as well as suffering from breakdowns and operational malfunctions.
In addition, other prior art products are constructed with activation systems which are susceptible to jamming or failure during the opening operation. In addition, some systems require sliding engagement of metal parts which are prone to incur jamming during repeated use. As a result, these prior art systems are frequently difficult to operate and have proven to be unacceptable to consumers, due to these difficulties.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a portable luggage cart/carrier having a two-wheeled configuration wherein the movement of the wheels are easily, conveniently, and reliably controlled by the user.
Another object of the president invention is to provide a portable luggage cart/carrier having the characteristic features described above which is quickly and easily folded by the user in its entirety for occupying a minimum area.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable luggage cart/carrier having the characteristic features described above wherein movement of the luggage support member automatically causes the wheel supporting brackets to pivot between the two desired positions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable luggage cart/carrier having the characteristic features described above which is constructed using a minimum number of components all of which are capable of being quickly and easily assembled.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable luggage cart/carrier having the characteristic features described above which is capable of being manufactured and sold at competitive prices.
Other and more specific objects will i n part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.